Council Tax: Grants

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what assumed council tax collection rate is used by her Department in the grant distribution formula; and whether this assumed rate varies according to the type of local authority;
	(2)  whether councils which have poor  (a) council tax and  (b) business rates collection rates receive lower total funding after the adjustments of equalisation; and whether councils with above-average collection rates are allowed to keep the additional income after the adjustments of equalisation.

John Healey: No assumptions are made about an authority's collection rates of either council tax or business rates in the distribution to them of formula grant. Formula grant consists of Revenue Support Grant and redistributed National Non Domestic Rates and, where appropriate, principal formula Police Grant.

Equal Opportunities Commission: Manpower

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2007, to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar,  Official Report, column 1215W, on the Equal Opportunities Commission: manpower, what steps the Commission is taking to tackle the under-representation of men amongst employees of the Commission.

Barbara Follett: I have been asked to reply.
	The Equal Opportunities Commission was dissolved on the 1 October 2007. The roles and responsibilities of the Equal Opportunities Commission will be taken forward by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Housing: Armed Forces

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  when she plans to make it a requirement for local authorities to accept applications from members of HM armed forces for social housing on leaving the services; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to ensure that local authorities do not discriminate against members of HM armed forces applying for social housing who have left the services earlier than the period for which they had signed up.

Iain Wright: Local authorities are required to consider every application for housing accommodation including those from a member of HM armed forces, provided it is made in accordance with the procedural requirements of their allocation scheme. Furthermore, local authorities must treat every applicant as eligible for an allocation of accommodation, with the exception of certain persons from abroad specified in regulations; and persons whom an authority decides to treat as ineligible because they (or a member of their household) have been guilty of unacceptable behaviour serious enough to make them unsuitable to be a tenant of the authority.
	The hon. Member in asking the question is perhaps referring to the application of "local connection" in respect of the allocation of social housing under the Housing Act 1996. At the moment members of the armed forces cannot establish a local connection with the area in which they are stationed or work. This can put the members of the armed forces at a disadvantage where a local authority takes account of local connection in its allocation scheme.
	In this respect I refer the hon. Member to the written statement made on 21 June 2007,  Official Report, column 108WS, by my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning in which it was announced that we would make the necessary changes to housing legislation, at the earliest opportunity, to ensure that service personnel are put on an equal footing with other people when applying for an allocation of social housing.
	The fact that a person may have left the services earlier than the period for which he or she signed up is not a relevant factor in determining their eligibility or priority for an allocation of social housing.

Housing: Rural Areas

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the target of 50 homes set by the West Midlands Regional Housing Board for settlements of less than 10,000 for the three year comprehensive spending review period in addressing housing need in those rural areas.

Iain Wright: The target set by the Regional Housing Board of 50 homes was set prior to the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 (CSR07) announced by the Chancellor on 9 October. West Midlands' assessment of need for affordable housing was based on the allocation received for the 2006 to 2008 funding period. There was the anticipation that the strategy would need to be revisited once the final CSR07 allocation is known.
	On 16 October my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Housing, announced a £10.2 billion package for housing and we anticipate that this will support a 50 per cent. increase in annual social rents outputs by 2010-11 in comparison with this year (2007-08) in addition to other measures to tackle the need for affordable housing.
	In the Housing Green Paper, we announced that we would be establishing a national target for rural affordable housing across the three years 2008 to 2011. With this in mind, my Department is working with the regional assemblies to assess need for rural affordable housing in their areas and what provision should be in the light of the CSR settlement.

Housing: Rural Areas

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the target of 65 homes set by the East of England Regional Housing Board for settlements of less than 10,000 for the three year comprehensive spending review period in addressing housing need in those rural areas.

Iain Wright: The target set by the East of England Regional Housing Board of 65 homes was set prior to the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 (CSR07) announced by the Chancellor on 9 October. The East of England's assessment of need for affordable housing was based on the level of funding received for the 2006 to 2008 funding period and projected forward to arrive at an indicative allocation for 2008 to 2011.
	On 16 October my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Housing, announced a £10.2 billion package for housing and we anticipate that this will support a 50 per cent. increase in annual social rents outputs by 2010-11 in comparison with this year (2007-08) in addition to other measures to tackle the need for affordable housing.
	In the Housing Green Paper, we announced that we would be establishing a national target for rural affordable housing across the three years 2008 to 2011. With this in mind, my Department is working with the regional assemblies to assess need for rural affordable housing in their areas and what provision should be in the light of the CSR settlement.

Local Authorities: Petitions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to introduce legislation to introduce a duty on local authorities to consider petitions.

John Healey: As the recently published; Governance of Britain; Green Paper states, the Government are considering introducing a duty that requires local authorities to consider and investigate petitions from local communities, and guarantees petitioners and the wider community a response on the issues which have been raised. We intend to consult about this in the near future.

Local Authorities: Public Participation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether she plans to introduce legislation to require local ballots on spending decisions by local authorities;
	(2)  whether she plans to require local authorities to implement citizens' juries.

John Healey: In the recently published 'Governance of Britain' Green Paper the Government announced their desire to help create active citizens and empowered communities who are fully engaged in local decision-making. As part of this process the Government have proposed a number of ideas to debate and consult on, including introducing powers to ballot on spending decisions and consulting on major decisions through mechanisms such as Citizen's Juries.

Local Government: Cooperation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has for a concordat between local and central Government.

John Healey: The 'Governance of Britain' Green Paper contains a commitment that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (CLG) will work with the Local Government Association (LGA) to establish a concordat to govern the relations between central and local government. Discussions between CLG and the LGA are ongoing. CLG will provide further detail about publication of the concordat in due course.

Planning Gain Supplement

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Government have spent on preparatory work carried out on the planning gain supplement; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	HM Treasury, HM Revenue and Customs, and the Department for Communities and Local Government have undertaken preliminary work since 2004 to develop and explore the feasibility of a Planning-gain Supplement. This has included the publication of one consultation document alongside the 2005 pre-Budget report and three consultation documents alongside the 2006 pre-Budget report. The costs incurred have been borne by the respective Departments as part of the normal policy development process.

Planning: Agriculture

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what changes have been made to planning policy on the protection of the best and most versatile agricultural land since May 1997.

Iain Wright: The Government's planning policy on best and most versatile (BMV) agricultural land is set out in "Planning Policy Statement 7: Sustainable development in rural areas" (PPS7), published in August 2004. PPS7 replaced "Planning Policy Guidance note 7: The Countryside, Environmental Quality and Economic and Social Development" (PPG7), published in February 1997, which included policy guidance on (BMV) agricultural land.
	PPG7 said that, within the principles of sustainable development, BMV agricultural land (defined as grades 1, 2 and 3a) should be protected as a national resource for future generations and its development should not be permitted before opportunities had been assessed for using previously developed or lower grade land.
	In December 2000 the Government's Rural White Paper "Our Countryside: the future", signalled that policy affecting planning decisions relating to BMV land should be changed. The White Paper said that decisions about proposed development affecting BMV agricultural land should take account of the overall value of the land and that agricultural quality should be treated only as one factor. It therefore proposed that BMV agricultural land should no longer be protected as a national agricultural resource and that decisions about proposed development affecting such land should left to local planning authorities. It also proposed that powers for the Minister of Agriculture to intervene in decisions on BMV agricultural land should be repealed.
	PPG7 was subsequently amended by a parliamentary answer given by the planning Minister the right hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich on 21 March 2001 to reflect the White Paper's policy proposals.
	These policy changes were carried forward into PPS7. This asks local authorities that the presence of BMV agricultural land should be taken into account alongside other sustainability considerations when determining planning applications. The policy also says that where significant development of agricultural land is unavoidable, local planning authorities should seek to use areas of poorer quality land in preference to that of a higher quality, except where this would be inconsistent with other sustainability considerations. If any undeveloped agricultural land needs to be developed, the policy requires any adverse effects on the environment should be minimised.

Property: Public Sector

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many properties are held on the Register of Surplus Public Sector Land database; and what property attributes are recorded for each property.

Iain Wright: The Register for Surplus Public Sector Land is managed by English Partnerships on behalf of Government. It identifies land held centrally by central Government and their agencies that is surplus to operational requirements. The register allows a 40-day period for public bodies to express an interest in an area of land prior to it being marketed more widely. The most recent version of the register was published on 30 September 2007 and is available at:
	www.englishpartnerships.co.uk/rspsl.htm
	This provides site information by county, local authority, originating body, nearest town and area. The information provided about individual properties is the site area and a short description or location. To date around 70 public sector bodies have supplied details of more than 750 sites, totalling around 5,000 ha of land.

Regional Development Agencies: Planning Gain Supplement

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether it is the Government's intention that regional development agencies will keep part of the revenues raised from planning gain supplement.

Iain Wright: The 2007 pre-Budget report announced on 9 October that legislation implementing the planning-gain supplement will not be introduced in the next parliamentary Session. Instead, the Government intend to legislate in the forthcoming Planning Reform Bill to empower local planning authorities in England to apply new planning charges to new development, alongside negotiated agreements for site-specific matters. The ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning, also on 9 October 2007,  Official Report, column 25WS, set out further details of the new planning charge.

Armed Forces: Pay

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been  (a) overpaid and  (b) underpaid to military personnel stationed in (i) Afghanistan and (ii) elsewhere through the Joint Personnel Administration system in 2007.

Derek Twigg: The number of over and underpayments resulting from Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system errors in 2007 can be provided, although the information requested for Afghanistan and elsewhere is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The figures are:
	
		
			  Month  Overpaid  Underpaid  Total 
			 January 161 1,383 1,544 
			 February 70 0 70 
			 March 229 54 283 
			 April 13,908 252 14,160 
			 May 3,340 1,181 k,521 
			 June 0 90 90 
			 July 2,978 416 3,394 
			 August(1) 0 51,917 51,917 
			 (1) Figures for August are subject to revision and refinement. 
		
	
	The increase in the number of overpayments in April was due primarily to transitional data errors from the Army legacy systems where elements were not picked up as expected by the JPA system. Records were corrected in time for the May payroll.
	In August 35,553 incorrect payments of £3.00 were made to the discontinued RN and Royal Marines Dependants' Fund. The error has been corrected and the money will be re-credited to pay accounts in October.
	In addition 16,364 underpayments of Home to Duty Travel claims for RN reservists occurred. The error has been corrected and the claims have reprocessed for payment in September.

Railway Network

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her Department's latest estimate is of the cost of constructing a high speed rail line between London and Scotland via  (a) the north-east and  (b) the west midlands and the north-west.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The capital cost of constructing a new high speed railway line between London and Scotland is likely to be some £30 billion, whichever route is taken. Presently there is no justification case for such expenditure. Considerable improvements are already being made to the West Coast Main Line to accelerate Anglo Scottish journey times for introduction in December 2008.

Road Safety Campaigns

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2006,  Official Report, columns 42-3, on road safety campaigns, how many hits the www.hedgehogs.gov.uk site received in each month since October 2006; and what further assessment of the effectiveness of the website has been conducted since November 2006.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of hits (total number of successful requests for pages) the hedgehogs website has received since October 2006 is set out in the table. As provided in November 2006, I have also enclosed the figures for the distinct number of hosts served.
	As mentioned previously, the hedgehogs website is one medium within a broad mix of media channels such as online advertising, PR, partnership marketing and road safety materials used to raise awareness about road safety to children. Our advertising drives children to the hedgehogs site to engage them in more comprehensive road safety information in a fun and engaging way.
	Visitor numbers to the site remain encouraging and given the growing proportion of children moving to the internet as their primary medium, we shall continue to use online advertising and web presence to help to boost road safety awareness among children.
	
		
			  Month  Hits( 1)  Visitors( 2) 
			  2006   
			 November 161,435 26,053 
			 December 148,040 47,868 
			
			  2007   
			 January 123,701 21,668 
			 February 142,438 36,557 
			 March 152,926 33,828 
			 April 121,144 26,101 
			 May 155,984 30,867 
			 June 149,293 29,568 
			 July 136,569 33,880 
			 August 104,979 27,211 
			 September 123,131 27,325 
			 (1) Total number of successful requests for pages. (2) Number of distinct hosts served.

Metropolitan Police: Emergency Calls

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on the performance of the Metropolitan police emergency call system;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the performance of the Metropolitan police emergency call system on 20 July 2007;

Tony McNulty: In 2005-06, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary undertook a baseline inspection of emergency and non-emergency contact management systems for the police forces of England and Wales. Under this review, the Metropolitan police performance was classified as 'Fair'. There has not been a similar or specific assessment of the performance of the Metropolitan police's emergency and non-emergency contact management system for 21 July 2005 nor the 20 July 2007.

Amnesty International: Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent representations he has received from Amnesty International on abortion-related issues; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: I have received no recent representations from Amnesty International on abortion-related issues.
	DFID believes that no woman should die or suffer because of unsafe abortion. Abortion should not be promoted as a form of family planning. But if women seek abortion through failure of contraception or lack of control over the circumstances in which they become pregnant, abortion should be available, safe and linked to post abortion care, including contraception and HIV prevention services. This is in line with the consensus agreed at the International Conference for Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994.
	Sexual and reproductive health is an essential element of good health and human development. More progress is needed on sexual and reproductive health to meet many of the millennium development goals, particularly those concerned with child and maternal health, HIV and AIDS and other communicable diseases, gender equality and achieving universal primary education.

Departments: Marie Stopes International Conference

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the Ministers from his Department who will be  (a) attending and  (b) speaking at the Marie Stopes International Conference being held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre on 23 to 24 October; whether his Department will be contributing (i) direct funding, (ii) informal support and (iii) personnel; whether there are restrictions on the use of these contributions; whether officials from his Department will (1) attend and (2) participate; if he will place in the Library material produced for the conference by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: DFID officials will be participating in the Marie Stopes international global safe abortion conference. However no DFID Ministers will be attending or speaking at the conference. DFID is not providing funding, informal support or producing any material for the Conference.
	DFID believes that no woman should die or suffer because of unsafe abortion. Abortion should not be promoted as a form of family planning. But if women seek abortion through failure of contraception or lack of control over the circumstances in which they become pregnant, abortion should be available, safe and linked to post abortion care, including contraception and HIV prevention services. This is in line with the consensus agreed at the International Conference for Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994.
	Sexual and reproductive health is an essential element of good health and human development. More progress is needed on sexual and reproductive health to meet many of the millennium development goals, particularly those concerned with child and maternal health, HIV and AIDS and other communicable diseases, gender equality and achieving universal primary education.

Developing Countries: Health Education

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of sexual and reproductive health education in developing countries.

Shahid Malik: DFID has funded two major research programmes that included assessing the impact of sexual and reproductive health education. These are the 'Safe passages to adulthood' programme at Southampton university (with a £2 million grant) and the Transitions to Adulthood' programme, run by then Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) and the Population Council (with a £5 million DFID grant). Early AGI findings from research in four developing countries (Burkina Faso, Malawi, Ghana and Uganda) demonstrate that the impact of sex education varies with the country and cultural context, as well as with methods of teaching used. In Uganda, for example, there was 8.5 times the use of condoms among those that had sex education, compared to those that did not. However, this finding was not replicated in all contexts. 40 per cent. of women who had been given a practical demonstration on how to use a condom reported using one at their last sexual encounter, whereas only 30 per cent. who had not received the demonstration reported using a condom.
	A special issue of the African Journal of Reproductive Health, Protecting the next generation', providing evidence from the AGI work will be published later this year.
	Education, including sexual and reproductive health education, is one of the most significant factors in preventing the spread of HIV in the next generation.

VisitBritain: Cooperation

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans there are to review the relationship between Visit Britain and Enjoy England; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 15 October 2007
	 Changes have recently been made to the relationship between the England Marketing Advisory Board and VisitBritain.
	The board, which advises VisitBritain on its domestic marketing work has been re-named VisitEngland. In future, it will take a more active role in the tourism marketing of England, and will be responsible for VisitBritain's domestic remit. The VisitEngland Board will also be made more representative of the domestic tourism sector.
	These changes have been fully discussed with the tourism industry, and the public sector organisations which support it, through bodies coming together and working together in a series of seminars organised by the Partners for England. VisitEngland will now work with Partners for England to re-invigorate, as well as better co-ordinate, English public sector tourism support.
	The changes have the full support of DCMS, as I was very pleased to demonstrate by attending the VisitEngland launch event in York on 10 October.

Members: Correspondence

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department and the British high commission visa section in Islamabad will reply to the Member for Edinburgh West's letter of 26 June 2007 and further faxes of 26 July 2007 and 22 August 2007 on his constituent Mr Zahida Mubarik.

Kim Howells: The visa section of our high commission in Islamabad sent an e-mail to UKvisas regarding Ms Mubarik's application on 8 August 2007. Due to an administrative error both the visa section in Islamabad and UKvisas assumed that the other would reply to the hon. Member's representations. I apologise on behalf of UKvisas for the subsequent delay. You will receive a full written reply by the end of next week.
	The information and evidence submitted with Ms Mubarik's appeal was reviewed by an entry clearance manager (ECM) on 27 September. However, despite new evidence being submitted, the decision to refuse Ms Mubarik's entry clearance was
	upheld. The ECM's explanatory statement has now been dispatched to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in preparation for Ms Mubarik's appeal hearing.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he is having with his Saudi counterpart on Arab League proposals for peace in middle east/Palestine.

Kim Howells: We very much welcome the work by the Arab League to take forward the Arab peace initiative. The international community has a key role to play in moving forward the peace process. I discussed the middle east peace process with His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Nawaf Al-Saud, the Saudi Arabia ambassador on 3 October. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary looks forward to discussing the Arab peace initiative further during the Saudi state visit later this month.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to prevent alcohol abuse in England.

Ann Keen: The Government continues to show a sustained determination to tackle the harms caused by alcohol misuse.
	The "Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England", which was published in 2004, was the first cross-Government strategy to prevent any further increase in alcohol-related harms in England. The 2004 Strategy has been extremely successful. It has put in place the mechanisms needed to deliver the Government's objective of reducing alcohol-related harms and has made considerable progress across a range of issues—new police and licensing powers, the new voluntary alcohol labelling scheme and revised advice to women about alcohol and pregnancy, effective and popular advertising campaigns (e.g. 'Know Your Limits', 'Think!'), creation of the Drinkaware Trust and improving alcohol treatment services, for example, the publication of suite of guidance materials, such as the "Programme of Improvement and Models of Care for Alcohol Misuse".
	We are already beginning to see the benefits of this: reductions in crime and city centre violence and early signs of an end to the continued increase in levels of alcohol consumption. Nevertheless, the review of the 2004 Strategy, which the Government was committed to undertaking this year, identified more that the Government can and needs to do.
	The Government's renewed alcohol strategy," Safe. Sensible. Social. —the next steps in the National Alcohol Strategy", published in June, sets out the long-term objective, to minimise the health harms, violence and antisocial behaviour associated with alcohol, while ensuring that people are able to enjoy alcohol safely and responsibly.
	The Government plans to achieve this by seeking to:
	-ensure the laws and licensing powers we have introduced to tackle alcohol fuelled crime and disorder, protect young people and bear down on irresponsibly managed premises, are being used widely and effectively;
	-sharpen our focus on the minority of drinkers who cause or experience the most harm to themselves, their communities and their families. These are:
	-18-24 year old binge drinkers,
	-young people under 18 who drink alcohol,
	-Harmful drinkers; and
	-To shape an environment which actively promotes sensible drinking, for example through a £10 million investment in a sustained information and communications campaign to challenge public tolerance of drunkenness and drinking that causes harm to health and to raise the public's knowledge of units of alcohol and ensure that everyone has the information they need to estimate how much they really do drink..
	In addition, the Government are committed to commissioning an independent national review of evidence on the relationship between alcohol price, promotion and harm and, following public consultation, to consider the need for regulatory change in the future, if necessary. Reviews will also take place on the effectiveness of the alcohol industry's social responsibility standards in contributing to a reduction in alcohol harm, as well as on the effectiveness of the industry's social responsibility standards in contributing to a reduction in alcohol harm.
	The Government have also announced in its Comprehensive Spending Review, published on 9 October, a Home Office public service agreement target to reduce drug and alcohol harm. This includes a new national indicator to measure change in the rate of hospital admissions for alcohol-attributable conditions, the first ever national commitment to monitor how the national health service is tackling alcohol harms through both intervention and treatment, which will operate from April 2008.
	The Government are determined that the steps that are set out in "Safe. Sensible. Social", will shape an environment which will minimise the health harms, violence and antisocial behaviour associated with alcohol, while ensuring that people are able to enjoy alcohol safely and responsibly.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the availability of breast cancer screening for those considered high risk in Hertfordshire.

Ann Keen: The Department does not hold information centrally on specific clinics or services offered by individual trust or funded by individual primary care trusts (PCTs). The provision of services is a matter for agreement between trusts and their commissioning PCTs, in consultation with local stakeholders. This should take into consideration local needs and priorities while ensuring they meet core national standards for the delivery of health services.
	National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline on familial breast cancer in May 2004, partially updated in October 2006. The clinical guideline relates to the classification and care of women at risk of familial breast cancer in primary, secondary and tertiary care. The guideline recommends that women at moderate familial risk of breast cancer or greater should receive annual mammography or magnetic resonance imaging surveillance.
	NICE clinical guidelines are covered by the Department is developmental standards, standards which the national health service is expected to achieve over time. The Healthcare Commission has responsibility for assessing progress towards achieving these standards.

Clostridium

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of  (a) infections and  (b) deaths due to  Clostridium difficile in (i) Gloucestershire hospitals NHS trust and (ii) England in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: We introduced mandatory surveillance of  Clostridium difficile infection (GDI) in January 2004. The latest annual data were published in July 2007 and the number of GDI reports for patients aged 65 and over in Gloucestershire hospitals NHS foundation trust and in England are in the following table.
	
		
			   Gloucestershire NHS foundation trust  England 
			 January to December 2004 763 44,563 
			 January to December 2005 1,073 51,829 
			 January to December 2006 1,058 55,634 
			  Source: Health Protection Agency—provisional data 
		
	
	While some of the increase will be due to improved reporting, the national levels are too high and this is why we have announced a new indicator to reduce infections by 30 per cent. by March 2011.
	Information on the number of deaths in individual national health service trusts is not available but the number of death certificates in England mentioning GDI is in the following table.
	
		
			   Mentions of C. difficile  Number of these where underlying cause of death is C. difficile 
			 2001 1,150 661 
			 2002 1,338 709 
			 2003 1,702 912 
			 2004 2,155 1,187 
			 2005 3,697 2,008 
			  Source: ONS Health Statistics Quarterly 33

Diabetes: Sight Impaired

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of diabetes patients in  (a) Hertfordshire and  (b) England went blind in the last year for which figures are available; what trends he expects in these numbers in the future; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Information is not available in the format requested. However, according to the statistical publication, "Registered Blind and Partially Sighted People Year ending 31 March 2006", during the year ending March 2006, there were around 11,000 new registrations to the register of blind people, a fall of 17 per cent. compared to 2003. Some councils have reported that new computer systems and data cleansing has reduced the number of new registrations.
	In Hertfordshire, during the year ending March 2006, 185 were added to the register of blind people.
	Registration of blindness is voluntary. However, it is a pre-condition for the receipt of certain financial benefits. It is this factor which gives greater credibility to the 'Register of the Blind' than to the 'Register of the Partially Sighted' and to other disability registration records maintained by councils, where the voluntary principle also applies.

Elderly: Abuse

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to prevent elder abuse.

Ann Keen: The Government regard abuse of vulnerable and older people as unacceptable in all its forms and is determined to root it out. We are addressing the issue in a variety of ways.
	We set out standards for care and treatment for the national health service and social care services via the national service frameworks for older people and mental health and the White Paper, 'Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability', copies of which are available in the Library.
	We introduced regulations and national minimum standards for care homes, domiciliary care agencies and adult placements. These are intended to ensure vulnerable and older people can live in a safe environment, where their rights and dignity are respected, staff are properly trained and care is of the requisite quality.
	We have created independent regulators, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Healthcare Commission, and given them the powers they need to take action against poorly performing providers or where abuse occurs. Ultimately, they have the power to close services down.
	We expect local authorities to play their part. 'No Secrets', published by the Department in 2000 provides a complete definition of abuse and a framework for councils to work with the police, the NHS and regulators to tackle abuse and prevent it from occurring. On June 14 this year, We also announced a review of the 'No Secrets' guidance. The case for legislation to protect vulnerable adults will be considered as part of the review.
	Local authorities have been given specific responsibilities. Statutory guidance issued in May 2006 required them to ensure that directors of adult social services maintain a clear organisational and operational focus on safeguarding vulnerable adults and that relevant statutory requirements and other national standards are met, including Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) requirements. Local authorities must make sure the director of adult social services has the powers and resources necessary to encourage a culture of vigilance against the possibility of adult abuse.
	We introduced the POVA scheme in July 2004, which requires staff who provide personal care to older people in their own homes or in care homes to be subject to statutory checks, including checks of their criminal record. The scheme, which operates as a work force ban, prevents dangerous or unscrupulous people from gaining access to older and vulnerable people in care homes or being cared for in their own homes.
	The Mental Capacity Act 2005, which came into force on 1 October 2007, introduces a new criminal offence of ill treatment or wilful neglect of a person who lacks capacity.
	The Government support the work of Action on Elder Abuse (AEA). AEA has been awarded a three-year Section 64 grant, totalling £360,000. This grant covers the three-year period from 2007 to 2009 and is to help fund central administrative costs.
	We are introducing a new centralised vetting and barring scheme for people working with children and vulnerable people. This scheme, as set out in the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, will extend the coverage of the existing barring schemes and draw on wider sources of information to provide a more comprehensive and consistent measure of protection for vulnerable groups across a wide range of settings, including the whole of social care and the NHS. The new scheme will make it far more difficult for abusers to gain access to some of the most vulnerable groups in society and will be a significant step forward.

Hospitals: Infectious Diseases

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued to hospital trusts on the management and eradication of hospital-acquired infections.

Ann Keen: Reducing health care associated infections (HCAIs), including meticillin resistant  Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and  Clostridium difficile is a priority for the Department.
	Extensive guidance has been issued over the years and is summarised in the reference section of The Health Act 2006, "Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Health Care Associated Infections". A copy has been placed in the Library and is also available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4139336
	In addition, recent guidance includes the following:
	"Saving Lives: reducing infection, delivering clean and safe care" (updated in June 2007) provides tools to help achieve effective prevention and control of HCAI. This includes high impact intervention care bundles on the use of various catheters, a care bundle for ventilated patients; and best practice documents on prevention of surgical site infection; taking blood cultures; screening for MRSA colonisation,  C. diffidle and antimicrobial prescribing. This report is available in the Library and also at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_078134
	"Isolating patients with health care associated infection" which will help ensure safe placement management and care of patients with infections. This report has been placed in the Library and is available at:
	www.clean-safe-care.nhs.uk/cms/ArticleFiles/mmn4zs453tvojo45jrxa1kui25082005104027/Files/IsolationGuidance__07.pdf
	"Epic 2: National Evidence-based Guidelines for Preventing Healthcare—Associated Infections in NHS Hospitals in England", published in February 2007, provides the evidence base for many elements of clinical practice which are essential for prevention and control of health care associated infections and which can be adapted for use locally. This report has been placed in the Library and is also available at:
	www.epic.tvu.ac.uk/PDF%20Files/epic2/epic2-final.pdf
	A professional letter on health care associated infections including particularly infection caused by  Clostridium difficile was issued to all chief executives of NHS acute trusts, primary care trusts and strategic health authorities on 7 December 2006. This letter set out the policies and clinical practices needed to control  Clostridium difficile and also included very simple operational guidance for managers. A copy has been placed in the Library and is also available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/Dearcolleagueletters/DH_063090
	This followed up the joint professional letter from the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Nursing Officer issued in December 2005 reminding them of the importance of this infection and listed the key actions to control  Clostridium difficile and highlighted the guidance available. The letter has been placed in the Library and is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/LettersAndCirculars/ProfessionalLetters/ChiefMedicalOfficerLetters/ChiefMedicalOfficerLettersArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4125069&chk=cuQ7C%2B

Medical Services: Standards

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent evidence his Department has considered on the effect on clinical outcomes of centralisation of services for  (a) stroke,  (b) heart attack,  (c) respiratory problems and  (d) other conditions.

Ann Keen: "Mending hearts and brains", published in December 2006, by the National Clinical Director for Heart Disease and Stroke, makes a clinical case for changes to the way heart attack and stroke services are provided in both hospital and community settings.
	This and similar publications issued with respect to mental health, cancer and children and maternity services in particular, are not intended to be prescriptive but to explain the clinical reasons for changing the way in which services are provided in order to save lives and achieve better outcomes for patients.
	The Department is currently developing a National Service Framework for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. This will be published in 2008.

Midwives: NHS Stockport Primary Care Trust

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives were employed in the NHS Stockport Primary Care Trust in each year since 1997; and how many vacancies for midwives there were in the Trust in each year.

Ann Keen: Midwives are employed by acute trusts rather than primary care trusts. The number of midwives employed by Stockport NHS Foundation Trust and its predecessor organisations since 1997 is listed in the following table. The national health service vacancy survey started in 1999 and records vacancies lasting three months or more. Since the survey began, two vacancies have been recorded at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, both in March 2005.
	
		
			   Number 
			 1997 195 
			 1998 178 
			 1999 179 
			 2000 162 
			 2001 188 
			 2002 175 
			 2003 165 
			 2004 159 
			 2005 164 
			 2006 176 
			  Notes: 1. On 1 April 2000, Stockport Acute Services NHS Trust and Stockport Healthcare NHS Trust merged to for Stockport NHS Trust. The Trust achieved foundation status on 1 April 2004. 2. Figures listed are at 30 September on each specified year.  Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care non-medical workforce census.

Obesity

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of obesity in England.

Dawn Primarolo: Obesity is a serious problem, with significant health, social and financial costs. Successfully tackling the problem requires a whole society approach.
	The Foresight report (copies of which are available in the Library) predicts that by 2050 over half the adult population will be obese, costing the nation an extra £45.5 billion a year.
	The Government have already made significant progress in a number of areas. For example:
	We have worked with Ofcom to change the nature and balance of advertising food to children, by restricting the promotion of foods high in salt, sugar and fat.
	We have transformed school sport over the past five years, with 86 per cent, of
	school children now doing two hours of quality school sport a week. And we want to go further so that every child has the chance of five hours of sport every week, backed by £100 million a year additional investment.
	We have put in place tougher nutritional standards for school food, supported by an investment of £500 million between 2005 and 2011 to transform school food across the school day.
	In March 2006, the Food Standards Agency launched their signpost model for front of pack food labelling.
	We commissioned Foresight to use scientific evidence to help us understand more fully the scale of the problem and with the publication of their report today, we now have a world-leading evidence platform to move further and faster in our approach to tackling obesity
	The Government have committed to go further and faster on its existing obesity policies and will be developing a comprehensive cross Government strategy on obesity, building on the evidence in this report. The work will be led by a cross-governmental ministerial group convened by the Secretary of State (Alan Johnson).

Prostate Cancer: Screening

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests were carried out by the national health service in 2006-07; how many men were diagnosed with prostate cancer as a result of the test; what alternatives to the PSA test have been assessed; what plans he has to introduce such alternative tests; and what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Welsh Assembly Government on methods of prostate cancer diagnosis.

Ann Keen: The prostate specific antigen (PSA) test measures the level of PSA in a man's blood. However, it is not perfect. Some men with prostate cancer do not have raised levels of PSA. Two-thirds of men with raised levels of PSA, depending on the cut off level used, do not have prostate cancer. The PSA test cannot distinguish between men with slow-growing prostate cancer and those who have a more aggressive disease.
	The number of PSA tests carried out in the national health service is not held centrally. The Department policy research programme funded a study on urological referral in men with raised PSA levels and patterns of testing in general practice between 2002 and 2004. The study showed that the annual rate of testing is estimated to be 8.6 per 100 men (1).
	The number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer as a result of having a PSA test is not held centrally. However, it is likely that most men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer had at least one PSA test as part of the diagnostic process.
	The Government are committed to introducing a national screening programme for prostate cancer if and when screening and treatment techniques are sufficiently well developed. There is currently insufficient evidence from any country in the world to show that screening would reduce deaths from prostate cancer. The United Kingdom National Screening Committee (NSC) keeps screening for prostate cancer under review.
	The Department is supporting the development of screening technology for prostate cancer by having a comprehensive research strategy into all aspects of prostate cancer. We are jointly with other National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) members funding two NCRI Prostate Cancer Research Collaboratives, and the Department has funded half of the total £7.4 million cost for the first three years. Following a review of progress by an international expert panel the Department, Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council have agreed to provide a further three years funding of £3.9 million. The research undertaken by the Collaboratives covers all aspects of prostate cancer, and the NSC will be kept closely informed of any research results affecting the evidence base of prostate cancer screening. We are also monitoring international trials on prostate cancer screening.
	It is important to note that in order for a screening technology to contribute to saving lives it is essential for there to be effective treatments for the disease detected. That is why the Department is funding a £20 million trial of treatments for (PSA) screen-detected early prostate cancer (the ProtecT trial). The trial is due to complete in 2008.
	Regarding the Welsh Assembly, the Director of Cancer Services at NHS Wales is an observer on the Department's Prostate Cancer Advisory Group.
	(1) This is estimated data from selected general practitioners (GPs) at four laboratories and does not represent the whole of England. Only GP requests for PSA testing were included in the study, not those from urology departments. The study did not include testing undertaken in the independent sector. The study was restricted to men aged 45 to 84 years.